ive finally come to the (much needed) conclusion that crushes on boys are just a general nuisance and frustration until about the age of 21, approximately. or at least they are just a promise for trouble at seventeen (and younger in my case). *sigh* alright that was just an odd excerpt into my thoughts. on to the real topic(s) of blogging tonight: procrastination, fathers, daughters, cooking, and a week without mom here.

Procrastinating has been a major flaw of mine since i can remember. My first memory of procrastination was actually my inner self convincing my "other inner self" that i didnt NEED to brush my doll's hair until after "our walk in the park"./story starts/I had been pretending (yes i played "pretend" by myself for forever..still do actually, i just dont use dolls and talk to myself outloud anymore........*innocent stare, begins whistling*) that i was the older sister and she was my younger sister, and we were going for a walk in the park. (where we were subsequently kidnapped and i freed us by swinging my "younger sister" around until all the invisible bad guys were knocked out.............)/story ends/ i dont think her hair ever got brushed. then, when i grew up and started school, i was actually pretty diligent until 4th grade, and science projects began. (yes this would be about the time i started hating science as well). from then on, i procrastinated and had several "all-nighters" throughout the rest of elementary, middle, and highschool. only in 9th grade did it catch up to me in a major way, and my parents became aware of how serious my prorastinating problem had become-- i failed my second semester of spanish 1. Why am i admitting to all these embarrassing moments in my past? Because people tend to joke about "procrastination's definition is Facebook/Myspace/*insert any distraction here*". But in 9th g., i realized procrastination can be joked about, but its impact on life in serious, and major procrastination needs to be looked on as sin, and something to be fixed.Now, im my "senior year" of highschool, im still struggling with a sinful habit that i shouldve dealt with when i was 9. At the moment, im finishing painting the trim and 2 walls of shelves in my room -- i painted the other 2 walls' shelves last fall. I am trying to catch up on chemistry that i , in my own goals i set for myself, am 7 chapters behind in. I havent even started the British lit. hw that i got 2 weeks ago, and thats due in a week and a half. And lets not even go towards how my search for a job, and any photography progress, is coming along. And yet, though im not excusing any of that, its far better than what it might be if God hasnt repetively sent His message along. So im sending out a challenge, for myself and for any reader or future reader:- Monday morning or, if it is restful for you, Sunday afternoon some time, take about 30 min or so and outline some things you need to accomplish, or would like to accomplish. then- make a schedule for your week, planning out ahead of time when and for how long you are going to do each item on your list. make it reasonable, but strive to push yourself a little. then- follow through and see how much you can actually accomplish. if you've planned well and are dedicated to the challenge, you should be able to cross of at least 88% of your list. then compete with yourself. try this next week as well, and see how much more you can accomplish on your list, what with careful planning and time spacing. and dont forget daily Bible reading! :]

my Dad has to be the coolest dad in the world. and yes, obviously, i am prejudiced , so none of you dads out there take offense-- just learn from him! :D While my mom has been gone this week, helping my sister (whos pregnant with her 4th--due November 14th! yay!!) , my daddy has taken my on not just 1, but 2 dates!!!! :D Dates with my dad are HUGELY important to me, not just because they are usually quite rare, but because I love just being in my father's presence so much. Being in the presence of great men inspires and thrills me-- i cant wait to go to Heaven for that reason! :] Anyways, on our first date we went to Venti--a new Italian restaurant about 10 minutes from our house. We were quite pleasantly surprised by how delicious the food was, and how attentively the staff treated us, even though it was a full house. On our second date, we went to one of our favorite stores in the world--Barnes and Noble!! *insert girlish squeal of excitement* yes i completely flip out over B and B. and of couse, after having lunch at the cafe in there, dad went to read a book Zemmie got him for his birthday, on a Christian martyr he hadnt heard of before-- he says it is really good so far. And i went to one of my top 5 favorite sections-- the humor section! there i began catching up on my Far Side comics, and before i knew it, we had to leave. I suppose i could have done some research, or read a good book full of knowledge and information, but it was a rainy day, and tea/hot chocolate/ hot apple cider, a warm sweater, and a humorous book seemed to fit the occasion. :]

why do so many daughters treat their parents, but especially their fathers, with so little respect? my opinion as that very few men deserve any respect from their daughters, especially weak men who try and exert authority over their children without first building any relationship with them, having ignored/not made time for them when they were younger, and then when they grow up the fathers try to create some sort of bond out of thin air. and when that doesnt work, they just build up rules and regulations. and people wonder why teens nowadays rebel. though it might be a sinful pre-notion, i dont see how one can obey a rule or regulation without first knowing why it was placed. one rule my parents have set for me that friends of mine who havent grown up as i have dont understand is the "dating rule" . first of all, terms: in our house, dating or boyfriend-girlfriend dating mean: getting to know one another with the knowledge of possible marriage in the distant future. getting to know one another through: 1) "hanging out" at each others houses, getting to know the family, 2) doing things together, whether to help out the community, grocery shopping for family, etc, and 3) the occasional movie or dinner together (and no , for me and whomever i end up dating, Depending on the other persons character of course , a chaperone is not needed for every single second spent together. thats where the parental trust that they have raised their child well comes in) . alright, so now that weve basically defined the terms, the dating rule is : any guy who wants to take me on a date, must first call/ask my dads permission. and he must tell my dad 1) where we are going, 2) what time the guys going to pick me up, and 3) what time he is bringing me home. and the date cant be altered (during the date) from what he told my dad. no matter who it is, whether i've known him for all my life up to one day. and whatever my dads decision is, goes. why have this "antiquated" rule, as some of my more blunt friends have called it? well , several reasons, but to my eyes, the main reason is to keep away cowards. after all, one cant really be a coward and call my dad to ask him to date me. :] ive been told my dad is rather intimidating.

well i was going to talk about my cooking experiences lately, but its really late and church is tomorrow (or rather, later on today) so i need some sleep! have a blessed Lords Day